New and Exciting Ways to "Experience" the Cinema

Here's an innovative application of technology that has the potential to expand a range of possibilities in the public sphere. Its novelty involves how movie theaters can be used for things beyond just movies.

The Metropolitan New York Opera has created a live-simulcast series of its stage performances, which are shown in high-definition (HD) movie theaters across the nation, including in IMAX theatres. If someone wants to see a performance in real-time, but can only see it remotely, they can go to the Met's website and order tickets online for a live-simulcast performance in a local theater. But forget about opera for the moment. What would you would want to see in the same way on the big screen?

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_next.aspx

Here's the deal: many people would love to see a special live concert, performance, or other major event. But they can't afford to attend, live too far away to see it, or the event is sold out. And there's nothing like experiencing an event live, right? So, the Met seized an opportunity gap and found a way to bring its performances to a larger audience beyond the finite limits of one venue and at a more affordable price. In doing so, they're not only fulfilling audience demand, but they're expanding their audience. And that means more revenue -- for the Met, for local simulcast theaters and for nearby businesses that attract theater patron traffic. And more revenue means more jobs for local economies. The point? It's an example of existing technology and infrastructure being used in an innovative way -- thinking outside the box with results that are win-win for everyone.

So, what if this could be done with a rock/pop band? It'd be the next best thing to going to a live concert. And there's the added bonus that you'd be seeing the band up-close on the big screen. Because even at a concert you're lucky to ever get that close to the stage. And what if this idea was adopted as a successful model for other high-demand attractions? What if sports fans, for example, could "experience" a major event in real time, in an IMAX theater, and with an audience of equally passionate fans? The SuperBowl? A championship Lakers game? The World Cup? (But then, obstacles to the cut-loose, roudy beer factor may be a serious drawback!)

Or what about seeing other kinds of concerts, once-in-a-lifetime stage performances or other major cultural events simulcast live from New York, London, Sao Paulo, Beijing, even a small town in Iowa in a local IMAX theater? Could live simulcasts of timely political events or major socio-cultural or global happenings -- for free -- be another possibility? And how would such an experience compare to watching an event alone at home on a smaller screen, on cable, in a sports bar; or as a post-event news clip, YouTube video, or DVD?

Moreover, what are the implications for how we would experience such live major events in a public space together? Would it inspire dynamic discussions among audiences who are actually, not just "virtually," interacting with each other in real time and space? Would it lead to a more democratized experience through technology, rather than an isolated and exclusive kind? Is there potential that it would foster greater exchange between global cultures, in a way that would help narrow the divide between privileged and less privileged countries? And reporters -- they wouldn't just be covering a one-venue event, but a shared event in multiple venues at the same time throughout the country, if not worldwide. And, ultimately, how might this use of technology and social architecture re-define or expand the nature of "theater" and "cinema" and our expectations of these?

Or would it just be more of the same? Exciting at first, but then with people returning or staying home as usual, as passive consumers rather than active participants?

Most of all, significant audience demand has to exist for such ventures to work. Just because a technology has potential doesn't necessarily mean it will find "long tail" roots in society. Still, there would seem to be compelling possibilities for this idea, especially in the arts and entertainment. But will it catch on beyond where it is now? Will the initial "buzz" evolve into something sustained in people's everyday lives and choices? With technology, it's hard to predict. But it's sure interesting to watch and wonder.

- Misako M.